Just a Simple Story
by MasterMind Cyrium
Summary: Naruto finds a small picture book as a child that would forever change his life. Insane Naruto? Rated for violence. Inspired by Soul Eater.
1. Just a Simple Story

**Just a Simple Story…**

Summary: Naruto finds a small picture book as child that would forever change his life. Insane Naruto(?). Rated for violence.

AN: Well this is my first Naruto story in a long, long time. Before someone starts flipping out, this story was inspired by Soul Eater, particularly chapter 87 which has the same title as the prologue. Hopefully fans of that series will be able to put two and two together as they read. For people who haven't read or even heard of Soul Eater, I recommend reading it. It's an awesome series.

And the reason why I didn't put this up as a crossover was… well because I felt it wasn't a crossover. I'm just borrowing elements from another story is all. And the reason why I put a ? in parenthesis in the summary next to 'Insane Naruto' is that… well I haven't completely figured out what I want to do with this story yet. It's just something I wrote in my spare time because I was bored. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.

**Prologue:** Just a Simple Story about Killing People

'_This is Just a Simple Story'_

A young Naruto stared at the title of the small picture book he held in his hands. He woke up early in the morning and took a walk through the park by his house to find this small book lying on the ground. The young ten year old grabbed the book and looked around, finding no one in the vicinity. Instead of finding whoever the book belonged to, Naruto pocketed it and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him back to his apartment. It was October 10th, and Naruto knew better than to be caught outside today. He didn't know why but the villagers were always a little more… violent towards him when it was the day of the festival. With a heavy sigh the young boy closed the door to his apartment and smiled as he looked down at the book in his possession.

It wasn't everyday he had the chance to read a book. The teacher's at school never seemed to have enough textbooks for him and he always had to go without one during class and whenever he tried to get into the library, the old, mean librarian would never let him in. In fact if it weren't for the Hokage then he most likely would not have been able to read. When the Hokage learned of the 'lack' of textbooks and reading material, he took it upon himself to rectify this and personally taught the boy to read himself. Even now he always ended up with the old, torn up books.

Naruto couldn't contain the grin on his face as he turned to the first page. The first page had a picture of a crudely drawn stick figure that was standing far away from all the other stick figures. It seemed as if the book was made by another child if the art was anything to go by. His eyes wandered down to the dark, bold text at the bottom of the page.

"I am myself… And I can't understand others," Naruto read aloud, "They are things that I have to kill… Things that I have to erase."

Naruto blinked in confusion as he turned the next page. On the page before him were several pictures of stick figures killing each other in various manners. Naruto blinked again as he looked at the stick figures.

_Kill with a sword. _There was a picture of the stick figure with a katana slicing another stick figure in half.

_Kill with pressure._ The stick figure was now standing on top of the flattened remains of another stick figure.

_Kill with a strike. _The stick figure now hit another one with what looked like a stick, splattering blood everywhere.

_Kill with a jutsu. _The stick figure was now using what Naruto guessed was a fire jutsu to set another one on fire.

_Kill with a stab_. Naruto frowned as he looked at the picture of the stick figure shoving a sword through another's stomach. He began flipping through the book and saw dozens of miniature stick figures ripping, stabbing, crushing, and slicing each other into little pieces.

Naruto reached the last page and was greeted by the sight of the dark stick figure, standing atop the mangled, bloodied corpses of his fellow sticks and read the text under it.

_This is just a simple story about killing people._

Naruto immediately slammed the book shut and hid it under his bed, losing it in the darkness. He quickly walked away, swearing to never read it again.

**Xxx Just a Simple Story xxX**

***CRASH!***

Naruto jumped as he was suddenly awakened by the sound of his front door being broken down.

"Whersh de demooonnn..." Naruto heard as he started to panic, looking for a place to hide. The same exact thing happened two years ago. He was attending the festival when some drunken adults started pushing him around. He was able to slip away from them and quickly ran back to his apartment. Later that night, however, the same men came and broke down his door. Before they had the chance to do any real harm to him, several ANBU interfered and saved him. Naruto was sure they would have killed him if it wasn't for the ANBU.

Naruto clung onto his favorite fox plushy as he hid himself under his bed he heard footsteps approaching his bedroom. With a loud thud the door was kicked open. From under his bed he could make out 3 pairs of feet as they began wandering the room.

"Whereee areee you…" One of the voices cooed. Naruto shut his eyes as he curled into a ball under the bed, shuddering in fear as the drunks tore his room apart searching for him.

From under the bed Naruto could see all of his possessions being angrily thrown around before one of the drunks smartened up. "Difja check under da bed shet?" He slurred, making Naruto's face blanch.

He could hear their shamble as they slowly made their way to his bed. Naruto forced his eyes shut, clutching onto his fox for dear life, hoping that they wouldn't find him. Every second became painful as the creaky floorboards became louder and louder with each awkward step the drunks took closer to the bed.

After what seemed like an eternity their steps stopped. Naruto held his breath, praying to Kami they didn't see him. "There you are ya little bastard!"

Naruto opened his eyes in fright, coming face to face with a middle aged drunk. The man's arms went under the bed and grabbed Naruto's legs, dragging him into the open as he kicked and screamed. "Let me go! Let me go!" Naruto cried. But the man did not listen. He pulled the struggling Naruto out from under the bed, his legs kicking and flailing, attempting to kick the man in the face before he was thrown against the wall making Naruto's head smack into the old walls of the apartment with a sickening thud.

Naruto felt an indescribable pain as he almost blacked out then and there. He felt a pair of hands around his neck as he was hoisted into the air.

"Hahaha! Not sore tough now, are ya, ye shtupid fox?" a voice yelled. Naruto opened his eyes wider and tried to focus as he attempted to make out the face of his assailant. He was an older man who was balding and had a very red face. He was fairly wrinkly and he was laughing and smiling as he held the little boy in the air by his neck.

Just as suddenly as he was picked up, Naruto felt himself being thrown to the ground. Suddenly another man came into view as he stepped on Naruto's face, introducing the boy's cheek to the floor boards. "I wanna hear you squeal like a pig! Like when my dad died you sonuva bitch!" The man yelled angrily.

Naruto couldn't contain himself as he began to cry, yelling in his mind for someone to help. The ANBU would come. They came last time. It was only a matter of time. They wouldn't let him get hurt, was what he thought to himself as the man started kicking the boy. The other two men joined in, hitting him repeatedly as he curled into a ball.

He opened his eyes for a second trying to see if anyone was coming to help him when he noticed something on the floor. It was the book he found earlier today. It must've been dragged out with him when the men pulled him out from under the bed.

As a well placed kick knocked the air out of him Naruto recalled what the book said…

_I am myself… And I can't understand others… They are things that I have to kill… Things that I have to erase…_

Naruto repeated the lines in his head as his vision slowly began to fade from him. As he was kicked and kicked, Naruto slowly began to accept that he was dying. He let himself go, fading to blackness…

**Xxx Just a Simple Story xxX**

"_**Kekekeke…"**_

Naruto opened his eyes as he was brought back by this weird, wicked sort of laugh. He looked around and realized he wasn't in his room and the men were gone. "Am I… safe?" Naruto asked aloud.

"_Oh I wouldn't say safe!"_

Naruto turned around and jumped in surprise as he saw his stuffed fox, staring at him face to face.

"Fox!" He yelled happily as he quickly wrapped his little arms around the toy, squeezing into his chest forcefully.

"_Ow! Hey, watch it!" _The fox yelled, _"And before you celebrate, you aren't safe. Those men are still out there hurting you!"_

The boy blinked in confusion as he let the toy fox out of his grip, allowing it to float magically in front of him. "Then.. where am I?" he asked as he looked around the room, noting that everything was a deep shade of red. It seemed like one of those fancy rooms in one of those fancy western restaurants he snuck into one night to steal some food from. As he looked around he noticed a door in one of the walls that seemed to be floating and glowing an eerie shade of red and a large piano in the middle of the room.

"_We're in your mind, don't be silly!" _The stuffed animal said as it let out a childish giggle. "Why am I here, Fox?"

"_I don't wanna see you die Naruto," _The toy said as its head dropped down to make it seem like it was sad, _"That would make me really sad…"_

Naruto frowned as he pulled the fox into his chest, giving it a hug as he asked "But how do I stop them? There's nothing I can do…"

"_All you need is a little power!" _The toy squeaked as it buried its head into the little boy's chest affectionately.

"But… how do I get power? I can't do anything…" Naruto stated sadly.

"_You already have some power Naruto! Don't doubt yourself for a second! Remember that time you tripped and cut your arm the other day? Remember how it healed up in a couple of minutes? That doesn't happen to other kids, Naruto. The reason you were able to heal so quick is because you had a special power to begin with! Now look over there for a second Naruto!"_

Naruto looked over at a wall of the room, and saw a giant black swirl painted onto the wall. It was enclosed by a circle which had 4 protruding lines that shot out of the top and bottom half of the circle.

"What's that? That wasn't there before!"

"_It's a seal, Naruto! It's what's sealing away your power!"_ The fox said. _"Now go over there and try and remove it!"_

Naruto nodded and let the stuffed fox go before he walked over to the wall. He hesitantly moved his hand to the wall to find out he could grab the seal. He tightened his grip on the edge of the seal before he started to pull. To his surprise the seal seemed like it was… elastic. He could pull it off the wall, but it would not completely remove itself from the wall. It was as if the seal was mystically bound to the wall or something. Naruto pulled harder and harder, trying with all his might before he suddenly lost his grip, suddenly being flung back as the seal smacked back onto the wall.

"Ow… Did I get it?" Naruto asked as he slowly got up from the floor.

The boy looked on as the fox floated over to the wall. It closely examined the seal before it turned to him. _"You didn't get a lot of it."_ It said sadly before it seemed to suddenly perked up. _"But looky here! You got a teeny weeny piece of it!"_ The toy said in delight. Naruto got up and walked closer. He examined the seal and saw that he did indeed remove an inch or two of the seal. He looked into his hand and saw a small part of the seal in his palm before it began to shrivel up and fade from existence.

"Is… is that good?" He asked timidly.

"_Oh yes, yes it is!"_ The fox yelled happily, _"That should be more than enough to deal with those men outside!"_

Naruto smiled for a second before he suddenly frowned. "But… but how do I stop those men?"

The fox looked at him and gave the boy a puzzled look by tilting its head to its side. _"How? You kill them, of course! Stop being so silly!"_

"K-Kill them?" Naruto asked as he took a small step away from the fox.

"_That's the only way you can do this Naruto! They have to die!"_

"B-but how do I kill them?"

"_You read that book didn't you?"_

Naruto took another step back in surprise. He closed his eyes, concentrating as he remembered the picture book he found earlier that day. He remembered the dark little stick figure and how it maimed and killed other stick figures.

_Kill with a sword. _

_Kill with pressure._

_Kill with a strike. _

_Kill with a jutsu. _

_Kill with a stab._

_Kill by strangling._

_Kill with a headbutt. _

_Kill by decapitation._

"I am myself… And I can't understand others," Naruto said, repeating the very words he read aloud earlier, "They are things that I have to kill… Things that I have to erase."

"_Good, good!"_ The fox said as it happily clapped its stuffed paws together in applause it let out a childish little giggle. _"Remember what you read in that book and do just as it showed you! Now go through that door and make sure that no one will ever hurt you again!"_

Naruto nodded, determination in his eyes as he exited the room through the glowing red door.

The fox toy continued to float in place where he was left.

"_He wasn't able to remove the seal, master."_

Suddenly the wall behind the seal faded, revealing the door of a very large cage. A pair of large eyes and a mouth appeared from behind the sealed cage as the mouth twisted into a sickening smile, showing off several sharp teeth.

"_**It's fine… I just didn't want the boy to die. The seal will weaken in time. That's why he could rip off any of it to begin with. In time the seal will weaken more and the boy will gain more of my power. I am patient; as long as he does not die and continues to grow strong I will have no problem with waiting a little longer before I can be released."**_

The stuffed fox turned its head to face the monstrosity behind the cage.

"_And what of the blood? Has he removed enough of the seal for him to use it effectively?"_

"_**No… But as he grows older he will be able to use more of it naturally. Maybe he'll even be brought back here and we can have him remove more of the seal…"**_ The monster stated as it let out a small chuckle, _**"Until then, guide him… Instruct him after he deals with these mortals."**_

"_It shall be done."_

**Xxx Just a Simple Story xxX**

Naruto's eyes shot open as he found himself back in his room.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!"

Naruto felt the wind knocked out of him as he was kicked in the gut.

"_Concentrate, Naruto…"_

Naruto turned his head and saw his stuffed fox lying not that far away from him. It turned its head to face and said _"Concentrate… Bring out the power you have in you. Control your power… Will it so that you can heal and protect yourself."_

Naruto closed his eyes and began concentrating. He tried to breathe in and concentrate, like he was meditating and drawing out chakra like he was taught in the academy. _"I don't want to get hurt anymore… I want to hurt those people... I want to hurt everyone who was ever mean to me!"_ He shouted in his mind as he tried to use a power he didn't even know he had.

Then all of a sudden it hit him. He felt a tingle underneath his skin. He concentrated and centered it in his gut, where he was getting kicked hardest.

He opened his eyes and saw another kick was about to connect with his stomach. His closed his eyes tightly, expecting to feel more pain, but instead he felt… Nothing? He actually felt a light tap to his stomach, but it didn't hurt at all. He looked up and saw the face of the man who kicked him, who grabbed his foot in pain.

"Ow, ow, owww!" He cried as he collapsed onto the floor, "What the fuck, it felt like I just kicked a brick wall!"

The other two suddenly stopped kicking and looked at their friend who was clutching his hurt foot and rolling around the floor in pain.

Naruto took the opportunity to get up. He quickly ran into the kitchen, ignoring the men as he looked around for a weapon.

He quickly opened a drawer and tried to find something sharp and pointy that he could hurt people with. He quickly found a little butter knife he used whenever he was lucky enough to steal some bread or meat. It would do.

As he pulled the knife out of the drawer, the two men came into the kitchen, intent on harming Naruto more.

"We're gonna kill you, you damn brat…" One of the two said as he spat on the ground.

Naruto felt his blood boil and his skin tingle as he looked at the men. He was suddenly filled with confidence as he held the small utensil in his little hand feeling the cold steel in between his fingers.

"You wanna hurt me, don't you? DON'T YOU?… Well I'm not gonna let that happen! You're gonna die! YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!" He yelled loudly as he gripped the butter knife tightly.

One of them men laughed loudly as if Naruto's words were some sort of joke. "We're gonna hurt you real good, kid… I wanna hear you squeal like a pig again. SQUEE! SQUEE!"

While the man mocked Naruto, squealing like a pig, the little boy charged angrily, knife ready to strike as he tackled the man to the ground, embedding the utensil into his stomach.

The man's laughter was replaced with a scream of pain as the knife was slammed into his stomach.

The man's friend's eyes widened in shock as his friend was taken down by the small boy. "Get off him you demon!" He yelled as he threw a wild haymaker to the boy's face. Instead of the boy's head snapping back like he wanted to, his head remained in place as the punch connected. He heard his hand snap as his fist connected with Naruto's head, bouncing off of it as if it were made of metal. The man cried aloud as he held his crushed hand. It was as if he just punched a brick wall. Naruto ignored the punch as if it never happened

_Kill with a stab..._

Naruto remembered the words from the book as he dug the knife out of the man's stomach and proceeded to stab him in the neck. "DON'T HRUT ME! DON'T HURT ME!" Naruto yelled repeatedly as he plunged the knife into the man, watching as the blood poured out of his neck as if it were a fountain. "DON'T HURT ME!" He screamed as he buried the knife into his throat. Naruto kept stabbing away, making more and more blood splatter out with each second. He stabbed away violently, watching as the pretty, dark red fluid poured out of the man's multiple wounds. When he felt he had done enough, he left the knife sticking out of the man's throat, breathing heavily as he sat atop the corpse's chest.

"My fucking hand…"

Naruto turned his head and saw the man who tried to punch him, cradling his hand in the room he had left him. The man was sure it was broken and was cursing out in pain, not realizing what had just happened to his friends.

Naruto stood up, not realizing or caring that he was covered in blood, yanking the knife out of the dead man's throat before he brought the it to the other man's thigh.

The man screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. The look in Naruto's eyes looked psychotic as the man could only watch as the little boy continued to stab away at him, screaming "DIE! DIE! DIE!" over and over again.

What seemed like an eternity to Naruto passed before he stopped carving the man up. He kneeled there in silence, covered in the blood of his kill. The blood made him feel warm... He looked down at the body and saw the fear in the man's eyes- the multiple knife wounds that seeped out dark red blood that seemed to glisten in the moonlight. It was... beautiful. Looking at the blood seep out from under the man's skin and onto the floor boards of Naruto's apartment made him feel... excitement? No... what the boy was feeling was was like nothing he ever felt before. The warm blood engulfed the child in an embrace, and Naruto felt himself feeling content for the first time in a long time.

But the boy was soon brought out of his trance he heard moaning from his room. He slowly stood up, forgetting the knife in the man as he walked to his room and leaving behind a trail of blood behind him.

He walked into his room and found the third man moaning in pain as he tried, and failed, to stand up. His foot was probably broken and he was most likely too drunk to stand up straight to begin with.

Naruto closed his eyes as he tried to figure out what he should do with the man.

_Kill by strangling._

Naruto opened his eyes as he calmly walked toward the man and grabbed his throat with both of his hands. With strength a boy of ten should not have, he began strangling the man. He actually began to smile as the man struggled, attempting to escape the boy's iron grip as Naruto only held on tighter.

Moment passed before the man stopped gagging up saliva as he struggled to take in breath and the light in his eyes faded away. Naruto smiled as the man's body went limp in his hands. He dropped the body, letting it slide back onto the floor. He smiled insanely at his own blood cover hands.

"I did it!" He laughed, "I did it!"

Naruto began laughing. He kept laughing and laughing, never once realizing that a pair of ANBU came into the room several minutes later, nor did he notice them take him to ANBU headquarters.

Hours later when ANBU returned to the boy's apartment, one made a note that there was a pool of blood in his room that was completely black.

"_**The boy's blood is black."**_ The monster in the cage said as its large mouth curled into a wicked, toothy smile.

**END**

AN: I know you wanna review :D Feel free to hit me up with comments, concerns, questions, and the like.


	2. A Happy Ending

**Just a Simple Story…**

Summary: Naruto finds a small picture book as child that would forever change his life. Insane Naruto(?). Rated for violence.

AN: Sorry for the late update guys, I had midterms 'n stuff to deal with. Well I hope you enjoy! And I don't own Naruto or Soul Eater.

**Chapter 1: A Happy Ending**

Naruto let out a small semblance of a groan as Mizuki-sensei continued on about his lecture on the practicality of rope on missions. If it didn't have anything to do with gutting someone like a fish or throwing a knife at someone's throat, he just couldn't bring himself to care.

"When you're tying up an enemy ninja you do not want to leave any room for err-"

Naruto let out a small yawn as he turned to look at the toy fox that was floating by his side. Ever since that night two years ago Fox had never left the boy's side. He was always present to offer his advice to Naruto or to explain things the boy didn't understand. Naruto was sure that if it weren't for him he would be at the bottom of his class. Fox seemed to have extensive knowledge on chakra, chakra theory, ninja, and Naruto's special 'powers' for seemingly no reason at all. The one thing he didn't understand was that no one else ever seemed to notice Fox. Whenever the toy spoke no one heard him, and people just always seemed to ignore him as if he weren't even there. When asked about this, Fox only reply was a childish little giggle and _"I'm your special friend Naruto… No one can see me but you."_

As the young psychopath stared into space, Fox continued to keep his black, beady, unblinking eyes focused on the boy. A lot had changed in the few years that passed since that night. Though Naruto himself recalled little of that night, the incident left a lasting impact on the boy. The trauma of the incident combined with the influence of the black blood was slowly turning the boy into an insane, potential mass murderer and he was sure that the boy understood that he was insane to some extent. The black blood was a byproduct of the seal that had been placed on the boy when the Kyubi had first been sealed inside of him. The influence of the Kyubi's malevolent chakra in his system was what had first spawned the black blood in the boy's system.

The blood had many interesting abilities that would prove to be a great asset in the future. The black blood was what gave Naruto his amazing regenerative abilities in the first place. When properly manipulated the blood could increase strength and be solidified, granting the user skin as hard as steel and could even be used as a weapon. Though the benefits are great, they come at a cost. The only price that the blood demands was your sanity. While the blood grants all of those unique abilities, its main purpose was to instill a certain type of madness, a madness that would erase all fears, doubts, and hesitation when the user fights. When combined with the Kyubi's chakra, the jinchurki would become a walking death machine. Naruto, however, was far from the mass murderer Fox wanted him to be. Though he could not actively use his blood, its passive affects, an amazing regeneration ability and a slight violent and insane attitude, would always be active. But that would change in time. The boy would learn to use more of the power with training and as the seal allowed for more access to the Kyubi's chakra. For now he just had to make sure the boy would live long enough for the seal to deteriorate.

The toy fox continued to stare at the demon container, just like he always had these past few years and just like he would continue to do. One day, someday soon, he'd turn the boy into a killing machine to be reckoned with…

**Xxx Just a Simple Story xxX**

Lunch had rolled by and Naruto took his usual spot behind a tree near the back of the school. No one bothered him there. He looked at the other kids, all sitting happily eating homemade lunches made by their loving families and couldn't help but feel a bit of… disgust? Or was it jealousy?

He saw the happy look on their faces; how they were able to nonchalantly talk to their friends and how they smiled…. The smiles… They made him _sick._ They made him sick to his stomach- sick to the very core of his being. Why were they happy when he was left like this?

"_You want to be one of them."_ Fox said. It was a question, but it sounded more like a statement to the young pre-teen._ "You'll never be one of them, Naruto… They're too different from you. They'll never going to understand you. They're never going to attempt to understand you, Naruto… They'll never understand you like I do. They all used to pick on you and would never play with you. Do you really want to be like them?"_

Naruto didn't make a sound, staring ahead watching the kids eat their lunch and play their school yard games. They looked so happy… So _fucking_ happy.

"_These are the kids of the people who hurt you Naruto. Do you still want to be like to them? Do you want to grow up to be like the people who hurt you for no reason?"_

Naruto remained silent, continuing to stare holes into the kids he so intently observed. _"__I am myself… And I can't understand others… They are things that I have to kill… Things that I have to erase…"__ The boy began to repeat in his head, over and over again. _

If Fox could smile he would. He continued to watch the boy and felt absolutely giddy when he saw the look on Naruto's face. It looked so dark and angry! So very, very angry! This is what he wanted. He needed for the boy's blood to boil; he needed for the boy to go insane. To lose all sense of self-control, to go ballistic- to go bat shit crazy! The more he became detached from sanity the stronger his blood would be…

The other kids continued to play and eat; blissfully unaware of the hatred the child under the cherry blossom tree was fostering and the daggers he was glaring at them. If looks could kill, every one of them would have been eviscerated.

**Xxx Just a Simple Story xxX**

The dark blue haired heiress of the prestigious Hyuga clan sat quietly in class ignoring her teacher's lessons. Though she should have been paying attention to her studies she was instead focusing on the blonde sitting on the other side of the room. Naruto Uzumaki.

The lavender-eyed preteen eyed the object of her affections with a hint of concern. Two years ago Naruto had missed almost two weeks of school. When he came back he had changed. He was no longer the same boy she admired for so long. The old Naruto was so loud, happy, and confident! He would scream from the rooftops about he would one day be Hokage and that simple act made Hinata smile. Whenever he was knocked on his butt during a sparring session or messed up when he was trying to learn a technique he always got up and tried again. Whenever someone put him down he'd put on a tough face and try to prove them wrong. He'd never give up and he would never admit defeat. That's why she admired him so much.

She could never have the confidence he had, or at least that's what she kept telling herself. But seeing Naruto get up again and again, no matter what stood in his path made her believe in herself, even if just for a second. It was inspiring to her. She wanted to be just like him. Maybe then she could become stronger and make her family proud.

No matter what she did she couldn't please her family, more specifically her father. He often called her weak, saying that she had no place as heir and that her little sister Hanabi was much more worthy. Even her cousin Neji, a member of the branch family and someone she once saw as her older brother, looked at her like a weakling; like she was beneath him. When her family looked at her like that she felt like she didn't even want to exist.

But when she came to school, Naruto was always there. He always had that big smile on his face, that 'never-say-die' attitude and those big beautiful blue eyes you could just drown in. But one day that Naruto stopped coming to school.

He never smiled anymore. That was the first thing he noticed. Well, he did during training when he managed to hurt someone during sparring or something but that kind of smile was different. His lips always curled up into a wicked smile that showed off his teeth and made him look psychotic almost. She didn't like it. When he came back after missing a week and a half of school he was silent. He was quiet and timid and those big pools of blue that were his eyes lacked the luster they used to carry. He became very jumpy, like he thought everything was out to get him and hurt him. During this time she would often find him starring off into space nodding and shaking his head absently, like he was conversing with a person who wasn't there.

As time went on Naruto began to talk again. But he wasn't the same. He was almost nasty in a way. Whenever he talked it was to provoke someone or to insult them. It was nothing like how the old Naruto used to act. He started to avoid people too. "_Well that's not exactly true"_ Hinata thought to herself.

He used to avoid people back then too, but back then he made sure to go out of his way every now and then to proclaim how he was going to be future Hokage or pull an elaborate prank that would get half the town chasing after him. He stopped doing both of those things and Hinata found herself missing those little things more and more as the days went by.

As more time passed he even changed his look too. He got rid of those orange jumpsuits he wore and replaced them with several pairs of dark gray and black shorts and burnt orange shirts. He even covered up his blonde spiky hair with a black bandana that at the right angle covered his eyes in shadows. Though it wasn't a big change it made Hinata finally realize that Naruto had change, and not for the better.

The biggest change however was his eyes. His big blue eyes used to be so alive and exuberant. You could stare into them and lose yourself for hours if given the chance. Now whenever Hinata looked into them they seemed so dull. And the few times they didn't they seemed to be so full anger and hate that it made her scared. She could see it when the other kids joked about him or insulted him or whenever he sat alone at lunch.

When Hinata pointed it out to a few of her classmates and the teachers none of them seemed to notice. At first she thought she was the only one who noticed because she was the only one who watched Naruto closely, but she eventually realized that she was the only one who actually _cared._ Something had changed him and she wanted to know what.

For months now she planned to ask him what was wrong and what had changed him, but she could never muster up enough courage. She continued to beat herself up over her cowardice. Even before this she had never been able to hold a full conversation with the boy, but now he actually needed someone and she was too scared to help him. But today she had steeled herself. They were graduating in less than a week and she wanted the old Naruto back. She wanted _her _Naruto back. She knew there was little chance they were going to be on a team together so she had to fix this now while she still had the chance. After months of mental preparation she finally felt she was ready to confront him.

**Xxx Just a Simple Story xxX**

The day had ended quickly enough and all of the children got up and started to leave. Except for Naruto. He always sat in the back and waited for everyone to leave before he even moved and today was no different. Hinata assumed he did that so he didn't have to interact with any other students on his way home. Today Hinata made sure she was the last person to leave before Naruto and stood at the gate of the school, waiting for him.

Before long Naruto exited the building and walked past her, completely ignoring her existence. As he passed her she reached out her hand, but hesitated for just a second and let her breath escape from her lips, and he was out of her reach.

She felt a frown forming on her lips as she watched him continue to walk, moving further and further away from her.

"_I-I can't let this chance slip by!"_ She yelled inside her head. She wrinkled her nose and caught up to Naruto and reached out, grabbing him by the sleeve of his shirt.

Naruto stopped in his tracks as he felt a force pulling him back. He turned his head and saw a girl from his class pulling on his sleeve. Before he could even understand what was happening the blue haired, lavender eyed girl spoke up.

"N-Naruto…" The girl stuttered. She forced her eyes shut and shook her head as she felt her cheeks heat up. _"I-I-I can't do this!"_ She screamed inside her head, _"Yes you can! You've already come this far! _She opened her mouth to speak but her lungs were on fire and her blood felt like lava underneath her skin.

Hinata had this all planned out in her head. She was going to stop him and ask him what happened. She was planning to tell him that she was here for him and that she wanted to help him. She was planning to tell him she wanted the old Naruto back.

But when she finally did speak all the came out was: "Y-You've… You've changed…"

She tried to speak more, but nothing came out of her mouth. She instead looked at her feet and removed her hand Naruto's chest so she could twiddle her fingers.

The blonde gave the girl a confused look. He opened his mouth to talk, but he suddenly stopped. He turned his head and seemed to look at something that wasn't there. The boy paused for a second before he shut his mouth and turned around, leaving the shy little girl all alone, not giving her any sort of explanation.

Hinata said nothing as she heard Naruto walk away. She couldn't speak even if she wanted to. She felt some sort of sadness well up inside her heart as a few tears left her eyes, staining the ground she stood on.

She had planned for a happy ending too.

**END**

I know this chapter seemed kinda short, and it is, but I felt like this was the perfect place to end it. Plus I wanted to get this out as soon as possible. I apologize again, but midterms and stuff, y'know? I promise the next chapter will be much longer!

I also wrote this whole chapter while listening to two Kid Cudi songs, '' and 'No One Believes Me' so I feel like I should give him some sort of credit.

Remember to review!


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